Amar Sonar Bangla

History

The exact year of the song’s composition is not known. The melody is derived from Baul singer Gagan Harkara's "Ami Kothay Pabo Tare", set to Dadra tala. The partition of Bengal occurred in 1905 when the ruling British Empire had an undivided province of Bengal Presidency split into two parts; the decision was announced on 20 July by the then-Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, taking effect on 16 October. This divide of Bengal, being along communal lines–East Bengal and Assam having a majority of Muslims and West Bengal having a majority of Hindus–is claimed to have been politically motivated. Along with a host of others, songs such as this were meant to rekindle the unified spirit of Bengal and to raise public consciousness against the communal political divide.

The actual date of the song's composition is disputed, because the original manuscript of the song was never found. Prashanta Kumar Paul, in his biography on Rabindranath Tagore Rabi Jibani, claimed that the song was first sung on 25 August 1905 in an essay conference at Kolkata. The lyrics first appeared in public in the September issues of Bongodorshon and Baul simultaneously in 1905. The song, along with the musical notation (referred to as swaralipi in Bengali), first appeared in the periodical musical journal Shongeet Biggnan Praveshika in the same month and year. Indira Devi, Tagore's niece, Satyendranath Tagore's daughter, jotted down the musical notation, hearing it from Tagore himself (this was the common norm, Tagore singing the song, and someone formally jotting down the musical notations).

Official adoption

The first ten lines of the original poem constitute the most commonly sung version of Bangladesh's national anthem, adopted in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War. The instrumental orchestra rendition was composed by Samar Das. During the drafting of the Constitution of Bangladesh in 1972, two songs were proposed for the national anthem of the country, the "Amar Sonar Bangla" and "Dhana Dhanya Pushpa Bhara" by Dwijendra Lal Roy. At the end, Amar Sonar Bangla was selected.

Lyrics

The following provides the lyrics of Amar Sonar Bangla as written by Rabindranath Tagore. Only the first ten bolded lines of the original lyrics are sung as Bangladesh's national anthem.

English translation

The anthem was translated into English by Syed Ali Ahsan.

My golden Bengal, thee I love.
Forever thy skies be, thine air like a flute set my heart in tune;
O Mother, aroma of mango orchard in Falgun driveth me crazy,
Ah, such miraculousness!
O Mother, time seeth in Ogrohayon smiles sweet all through fields of paddy.

What beauty, what shades, what affection, what tenderness;
What a quilt thou hast spread at tip of banyans 'long ev'ry bank,
O Mother, words from thy lips like nectar to my ears.
Ah, such miraculousness!
If sadness, o mother, cast a gloom on thy face, my eyes filled with tears.

Spending my childhood in thy playhouse
Thy soil o'er my body smeared, I consider myself privileged.
Wonderful lamp at dusk thou lightest,
Ah, such miraculousness!
At once I quit playing and sprint back to thy lap, o mother.

In cattle grazing field, on pier for crossing stream,
Shaded village walkways, serene with calling birds
Open porch with heaped ripe paddy, my life goeth on.
Ah, such miraculousness!
All thy shepherds and farmers are my brothers.

This time I offer my head beneath thy feet,
Bless me with thy dust, obliged shall I be to flaunt overhead.
To thee I shall offer meagrely whatever I have at home,
Ah, such miraculousness!
Ne'er bothered to buy thee from others a hanging rope coronal guise.

Criticism

According to Ziauddin Ahmed, the song as the national anthem has been facing criticism at least since 1975. Among the earliest open opponents to the song include Islamic Democratic League MP Abdur Rahim and Vice-chancellor of the University of Dhaka Prof. Aftab Ahmed.

Historical context

The song was composed during First Partition of Bengal, which many Bengali Muslims of Eastern Bengal (the territory of which mostly form the modern-day Bangladesh) had welcomed and endorsed. Supporters of the Partition oppose the song as the national anthem of Bangladesh, as the song itself was composed in a context of opposition to a separate East Bengal that would eventually become Bangladesh in future.

Islamist and anti-Hindutva opposition

The song often face Islamist opposition in the country. They claim that the word "mother" used in the song refers to Hindu goddess, and Rabindranath Tagore addressed the country a "motherly goddess". Many Qawmi Madrassa teachers consider singing the song as shirk and remain silent during anthem presentation.

British Bangladeshi anti-extremism advocate Mufassil Islam criticized the song as the national anthem from an anti-Hindutva perspective, calling Rabindranath Tagore a "Hindutwa fanatic".

Others

In her book Bengal Divided (1995), Indian author Jaya Chatterjee claimed that the song Amar Sonar Bangla doesn't have enough breath that is needed to develop national consciousness being a national anthem.

Major controversies

In 2018, the government made compulsory for all madrassas to sing national anthem. Three years later, the government instructed the vocational and the madrassa division to strictly implement the rule. These moves faced heavy criticism and protests from the madrassa teachers and students.

In 2018, Bangladeshi singer Mainul Ahsan Nobel, who was a runner-up in the Indian-Bengali musical show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Bangla, said that Prince Mahmud's song "Bangladesh" depicted the beauty of Bangladesh far better than Amar Sonar Bangla. This remark sparked controversy among Bangladeshis. Later, he apologized for his remark.

In October 2020, a scholar from a local madrasa in Kushtia sang an Islamic song in the melody of Amar Sonar Bangla, which faced criticism.

In September 2024, Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, retired brigadier general of the Bangladesh Army and son of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Ghulam Azam, who held a press conference after his release from the Aynaghar, called for a replacement of Amar Sonar Bangla, claiming that the Indian government had forced the Provisional Government of Bangladesh to adopt the song. He also argued that Amar Sonar Bangla contradicted with the characteristics of Bangladesh, as the song was composed in the context of the partition of Bengal to unite the two Bengals. This remark sparked controversy on historical context and the significance of the anthem across the country. Liberal Democratic Party leader Col. (retd.) Oli Ahmed endorsed Azmi's remarks, citing three reasons–the song isn't about Bangladesh, the song wasn't written by a Bangladeshi citizen, and melody of the song was copied.

In early 2025, during the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi Islamic scholar Shaykh Ahmadullah and a few others, heavily criticized and advocated for banning the national anthem of Bangladesh. He said that the national anthem does not have the name of Bangladesh, that the music does not know about Bangladesh, that the music that was created before the birth of Bangladesh should be banned. This argument was opposed by many including Al Hasan Milad, he was arrested later for defending the national song.

In October 2025, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Assam unit criticized the Indian National Congress politician Bidhu Bhushan Das for singing Amar Sonar Bangla in a political conference in Karimganj, India. Although Das himself claimed that he had only sung the song as a Rabindra Sangeet, the BJP slammed him for carrying a "vote-bank-agenda" by promoting "Greater Bangladesh". Even the Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma ordered action against Das. This resulted in protest in Bangladesh against anti-Bengali sentiment in India.

Alternative proposals

Dhana Dhanya Pushpa Bhara

Dwijendra Lal Roy's patriotic song "Dhana Dhanya Pushpa Bhara", which was also composed during First Partition of Bengal, was one of the two proposals for national anthem following the Independence of Bangladesh, but eventually dropped in favour of Amar Sonar Bangla.

Notuner Gaan

Kazi Nazrul Islam's song "Notuner Gaan" is the national march of Bangladesh. In 1975, after the 15 August coup, then President Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed set up a committee for the replacement of the anthem. The song was one of two songs that were recommended by the committee. However, the process was halted after his removal.

Panjeri

Farrukh Ahmed's "Panjeri" was the other song that was proposed for the national anthem under Mostaq Ahmed.

Prothom Bangladesh

In 1979, in a letter sent to the Cabinet Division, then Prime Minister Shah Azizur Rahman argued that Amar Sonar Bangla was "contradictory to the national identity and the culture of Bangladeshis" as it was written by a person who had a non-Bangladeshi background, and proposed Shahnaz Rahmatullah's patriotic song "Prothom Bangladesh" for the national anthem. During the presidency of Ziaur Rahman, the song was played after Amar Sonar Bangla on the national television and the government programmes. However, the initiative stopped after the death of Rahman in 1981. Today, Prothom Bangladesh is the party anthem of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Lyrical amendment

In 2002, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and government minister Motiur Rahman Nizami proposed an amendment to the lyrics of Amar Sonar Bangla, citing Islamic values and spirit. However, the Cabinet Division did not accept the proposal.

Notable performances and covers

The Ministry of Cultural Affairs planned to stage an event on Bangladesh's 44th independence day in a bid to have the world record for the most people singing a national anthem simultaneously. Consequently, on 2 March, the ministry launched a program titled Lakho Konthe Sonar Bangla (lit. 'Amar Sonar Bangla in lakh voices') whose main objective was to hold an event with the cooperation of the Bangladesh Armed Forces where approximately 300,000 people would sing the national anthem. Several popular Bangladeshi musicians and cultural groups later joined the program.

The record was broken at 11:20 on 26 March 2014 by 254,537 participants at Dhaka's National Parade Ground. The event was attended by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, and all the members of the cabinet. After receiving the required evidence, the Guinness Book of World Records approved the record on 9 April 2014. The record was broken by India on 21 January 2017.